Exploring individual predictors of variation in public awareness of expressive and instrumental nonprofit brands

Expressive and instrumental functions provide a way to classify activities that take place in the nonprofit sector. These functions also provide a way to better understand individual's philanthropic involvement with certain types of nonprofit organizations. Despite the usefulness of these classifications, only a few studies have explored demographic, social, and ideological differences in individuals' philanthropic involvement along expressive and instrumental dimensions; and, no studies have explored differences in public awareness of nonprofits along these dimensions. Such awareness, though, could likely be an important precursor to an individual's philanthropic involvement. Thus, the purpose of this study is to explore whether variables known to be associated with variation in philanthropic involvement are also associated with variation in awareness of, what we categorize as, expressive and instrumental nonprofit brands. Using data from a survey of public awareness of, and attitudes toward, nonprofit organizations in San Diego County (n = 1002), our findings show that individuals are more aware of instrumental nonprofit brands than they are of expressive nonprofit brands. However, there are important individual differences to consider. We discuss the theoretical relevance of our findings and offer several practical recommendations for nonprofit administrators.     

The influence of external reference price strategies in a nonprofit arts organization's “pay‐what‐you‐want” setting

Nonprofit arts organizations face conflicting objectives to balance—or more specifically, to create—artistic and educational value and to generate financial income from various sources. Pay‐what‐you‐want (PWYW), a participative pricing mechanism where services have no fixed price and customers actively decide what to pay, is a novel pricing mechanism and is of high interest for organizations and researchers alike. Based on the concepts of loss aversion and gain, this study presents a field experiment to test the effects of different PWYW pricing strategies on the amount of money paid by visitors of a German photo biennial. Explicitly, the provisions of minimum, maximum, and suggested external reference prices are compared to a setting with no external reference prices. We test the derived hypotheses, discuss the results, and provide implications for future research, as well as for the management of nonprofit arts organizations.     

Marketing expense and financial performance in arts and cultural organizations

Nonprofit arts and cultural organizations use marketing to sustain viability. This study uses data from the Cultural Data Project to examine the effects of marketing on revenue in arts and cultural organizations. The current analysis demonstrates that total marketing expense is positively related to total revenue. Marketing expense used for fund‐raising positively influences donation income, as intended, whereas commercial income is not affected. Alternatively, marketing expense for programs positively influences both commercial income, as intended, and donation income. The novel finding from this study is that marketing expense mainly targeting non‐donor ticket buyers not only increases commercial income but also augments donation income in arts and cultural organizations.     

Relationships among levels of government support,marketing activities,and financial health of nonprofit performing arts organizations

• This exploratory study researches and analyzes the empirical effects of financial levels of government support and marketing practices on the financial health of nonprofit performing arts organizations. Declining government subsidies and increasing competition from non-traditional sources have presented these organizations with unique opportunities and challenges that call for a market-centered, as well as an art-centered approach. Financial health is critical for the long-term success of a nonprofit performing arts organization. Few empirical studies have examined the interrelationships between these key variables. This study analyzes a sample of 63 American professional symphony orchestras employing 20 years of data. The correlations among financial levels of government support and marketing activities were positive and significant, the correlations among levels of government support and financial health were negative and significant, and the correlations between levels of marketing activity and financial health were negative and varied in significance. Causal analyses were less conclusive, but significant causal relationships were found for large symphony orchestras, indicating that segmentation research may be warranted. Implications and opportunities for future research are presented which have potential application for government agencies, academic researchers, and arts organization managers, boards of directors, and donors.

Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The relevance of reputation in the nonprofit sector: the moderating effect of socio-demographic characteristics

This paper extends prior research on the reputation of nonprofit organizations (NPOs) by investigating the moderating role of socio-demographic characteristics in forming NPO reputation and reputation's effects on donating and volunteering behavior. The findings offer new insights into the role an NPO's reputation plays and its effects on key outcomes such as willingness to donate and work as a voluntary member in specific subgroups. The results show that successful reputation management is specifically important for male, older, highly educated, and affluent respondents. Communicational measures aimed at strengthening an organization's social responsibility are particularly promising regarding triggering favorable donor behavior and voluntary support. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A processing fluency perspective on overhead aversion: How much is too much?

Overhead aversion has afflicted the nonprofit sector in recent decades. Yet, questions remain regarding how high is too high from a donor perspective and at what level overhead expenses just “feel right.” Using processing fluency as a theoretical foundation, the central purpose of this research was to investigate whether a nonprofit overhead ratio fluency level exists that significantly reduces both donation likelihood and nonprofit perceptions. Results from two studies show that a 25% overhead ratio appears to be the proximate ceiling regarding what fluently fits within a potential donor's schema for acceptance. Overhead ratios exceeding this threshold tended to decrease donation likelihood and nonprofit perceptions in a relatively stable manner. Moreover, the 25% threshold seems most relevant to human and animal causes and not as relevant to arts and cultural nonprofits such as museums. The results suggest that donors have a preconceived overhead ratio limit. Nonprofits that exceed that threshold are in danger of deterring donors. If nonprofit overhead ratios exceed the donor fluency threshold, nonprofit managers should consider distinct promotional strategies that entice donors and diminish overhead aversion effects.     

CSR and service quality in nonprofit organizations: the case of a performing arts association

• The relationship between corporate social responsibility (CSR) and marketing performance has been widely investigated recently, but mostly in relation to for-profit companies. This paper highlights the importance of this topic for nonprofit organizations (NPOs). Focusing on an Italian NPO operating in the performing arts and entertainment industry, two empirical studies (a quantitative survey and a qualitative exploratory enquiry) prove the strategic relevance of CSR in nonprofit contexts. The results demonstrate that CSR can be considered an additional dimension of the customer perception of service quality in NPOs and reveal that customer perception of the social responsibility of the studied NPO is strongly linked to its institutional mission and to the modalities through which it pursues that mission.

Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Rethinking arts marketing in a changing cultural policy context

This paper investigates recent changes in British cultural policy and their implications for arts marketing. It first points out the decisive role of the policy in shaping the environment of the nonprofit arts and argues that arts marketing developed as an organisational strategy within the context of marketisation policy since the 1980s. This is followed by an analysis of the current cultural policy, where ‘social impacts’ of the arts are highly emphasised and state intervention intensifies. Through a case study, it is demonstrated that nonprofit arts organisations are adapting to the new environment by rapidly expanding programmes for educational and social purposes while implicitly resisting top‐down political pressure. The paper raises the question of whether the arts marketing framework can reflect the new reality of arts management. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Charity brand personality: can smaller charitable organizations leverage their brand's personality to influence giving

The importance of establishing a strong brand identity has been the focus for consumer brand managers for decades. Organizations develop and communicate a distinctive brand personality as a means of attracting consumers and cultivating long‐term relationships. While the concept of branding has gained recent attention as an important strategy for nonprofit practitioners, little empirical data exist on the role a charity's brand personality might play in attracting donors. A few recent studies of large national charitable organizations provide support that charities exhibit distinctive personalities. This study explores whether smaller, local scope charitable organizations, without the benefit of national brand recognition, also exhibit distinctive brand personalities and whether such brand personalities influence donors. Results from five charitable organizations, from four distinct categories of cause, find that brand personality traits that are both differentiating and relevant to donors influence charitable giving. The findings provide nonprofit practitioners with valuable insights for leveraging their brand's personality to turn donor awareness into commitment and establish a stronger market position. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Understanding donors: A case of university performing arts programs in the USA

• The purpose of the study was to: (a) to examine the factors that influence donor behavior, (b) to determine which specific perceived benefits are predictors of donor behavior, and (c) to examine the influence of gender, age, and income level of university performing arts program (PAP) donors. Secondary data from the Value and Impact Study, collected by 14 Major University Presenters (MUPs) was used. Results of data analyses using 1771 donor responses suggest that identification with the PAP, familiarity with planned giving options, and public recognition are important predictors of donor behavior. Donors highly value priority seating, advanced notice of programs, and ability to purchase single tickets in advance of public sale. Additionally, age, gender, economic status, and perceived benefits were found to be important variables for understanding donor behavior. Given these results, implications for future research and practice in relationship marketing are discussed.

Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The ‘new’ donor: creation or evolution?

The unusual mass of financial capital produced in the late 20th century, complemented by the creative thinking of innovative philanthropists, engendered new ideas for philanthropy. An entrepreneurial focus, greater emphasis on partnerships among business, government and nonprofit sectors, and new wealth as well as new social innovation dramatically affected the philanthropic scene — and therefore nonprofit organisations and fundraising. A publication extolling venture philanthropy stated, ‘Philanthropy may be on the cusp of the greatest revolution in the nonprofit sector since Congress granted tax‐exempt status in 1954’.[Morino Institute (2001) ‘2001 Venture Philanthropy: The Changing Landscape’, prepared for the Morino Institute and Venture Philanthropy Partners, Inc., by Community Wealth Ventures, Inc.] This paper defines the terminology that identifies the new donor, describes new roles and practices in philanthropy, and looks at how the new donor fits into a comprehensive fundraising programme. New approaches to philanthropy versus traditional philanthropy are considered, including whether or not these approaches are actually new or represent an evolution in giving. Futureprojectionsarediscussedaswellascaveats regarding the maintenance of balance between what is tried and true and what is a trend. Copyright © 2002 Henry Stewart Publications     

Efficiency,stability and the decision to give to nonprofit arts and cultural organizations in the United States

• Using data from the Cultural Data Project, this study extends the literature by examining the impact of financial disclosure information on donations to arts and culture‐related nonprofit organizations in the United States. Results for organization financial stability are for the most part counterintuitive: financially unstable arts and culture‐related nonprofits receive more donations. The current analysis supports prior research and finds evidence of a “crowding in” effect for fundraising expenses, suggesting that nonprofits that spend more on fundraising and marketing raise more funds than those that spend less. Additional analysis indicates efficiency matters to donors when it comes to fundraising efforts. As the “cost to raise a dollar” increases donations decrease. Nonprofit managers in arts and culture‐related organizations concerned about increasing donations should consider strategies that will increase the efficiency of their fundraising and marketing efforts. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

     

Rising Income Inequality in a Time of Plenty: The Influence of Micro-Justice Standards and Group Membership on Macro-Justice Perceptions

Rising income inequality in the 1990s was used to examine the links between micro- and macro-justice. Data from a sample of 119 managers and 334 union members supported our hypothesis that those who more strongly endorsed equality norms at the micro-justice level perceived macro-level income inequality as more unjust. Looking at two key subgroups, our hypothesis that union members were more likely than managers to endorse an equality norm was not supported. Yet managers were significantly more likely than union members to endorse an equity norm at the micro level, as predicted. Finally, our fourth hypothesis that the equality norm mediates the relationship between union membership and perceived injustice was not supported.     

Understanding social influence in Facebook fundraising: Relationship strength,immediacy of needs,and number of donations

Crowdfunding through social media has presented challenges and opportunities for nonprofit and voluntary sector organizations. To better understand how organizations can harness the power of social media in fundraising, the current research examined the effects of different types of Facebook fundraising posts on donor engagement. Based on Social Impact Theory, three factors of social influence were investigated, including relationship strength with the fundraiser creator, immediacy or urgency of the fundraising need, and number of donations. An online experiment was conducted using samples recruited through Amazon Mechanical Turk. A repeated measures test was performed to explore the effects of three social influence factors on perceived source credibility, feeling of social presence, attitude toward the post, and intention to click, share, and donate. Strongest main effects were found for immediacy of needs. Facebook fundraising posts for an urgent need generated much more positive responses than posts for a nonurgent need. Interaction effects were also found among three variables in perceived credibility and intention to click. Personal relevance and perceived risk moderated the effects of number of donations on intention to donate. Implications for nonprofit and voluntary sector organizations were discussed.     

“Please don't make me a hero”: A re-examination of corporate heroes

Recent discussions of corporate heroes focus on benefits without examining costs. Although our perceptions are not entirely negative, we have discovered several reasons to be cautious about corporate heroes. We present some of the potential problems associated with creating heroes, and another set of dysfunctions occurring once heroes have been created. Our intention is not to debunk heroes, but to attach a cautionary note to their use in organizations. We fully expect the natural emergence of heroes in many organizations, but also propose that managers can accomplish as much, and often less hazardously, by working on perspective, praise, and trying to influence daily practice in their organizations. This approach is both more explicit and direct in infusing organizations with the same benefits of motivation and meaning derived from having heroes. Moreover, it can lay a foundation of values that ultimately determines what kinds of individuals emerge as heroes.     

Online donation behavior in nonprofit organizations: The role of congruent processing styles

With the advent of technology, donors are increasingly donating via online channels. This shift deems it necessary for nonprofit organizations to better understand the online donor behavior. As such, the purpose of this paper is twofold. First, we investigate if nonprofit organizations are perceived differently in terms of their cognitive and affective natures. Then, we examine how different consumer processing styles, i.e. cognitive and affective, interact with consumer perceptions of nonprofit cognitive/affective orientations in influencing their donation intentions. Our results indicate that consumers with a high need for cognition are more willing to donate to predominantly cognitive nonprofit organizations, while those with high need for emotion are more willing to donate to predominantly affective nonprofit organizations. Based on these results, we suggest that nonprofit organizations can garner more donations if they request funds from donors whose processing styles are congruent with the organization. Additional recommendations for future research are provided.     

Theory of green purchase behavior (TGPB): A new theory for sustainable consumption of green hotel and green restaurant products

Fostering customer green purchase behavior is a fundamental constituent of an eco‐friendly hospitality firms' success. The present study developed a theory of green purchase behavior (TGPB) that clearly and sufficiently explains customer environmentally responsible buying behavior for green hospitality products, such as green hotels and green restaurants. Mixed methods based on a psychometric approach were used for the development of the theory. Within the theory, attitude, ascribed responsibility, and social norm directly activate the personal norm. These types of activators form based on awareness of consequences, image, ecological worldview, and environmental value. In addition, past behavior increases behavior. This theorization is fully supported and demonstrated through both qualitative and quantitative processes. Green purchase behavior was satisfactorily accounted for by the proposed theory. The TGPB included a stronger prediction power than the existing pro‐social theories, and it is applicable to diverse hospitality/tourism/consumer behavior contexts.     

Nonprofit organizations,institutional economics,and systems thinking

The present paper applies the logic of John Kenneth Gailbraith's institutional economics analysis of corporate power to inquiring into the societal role of the nonprofit sector. Building on Galbraith's insight that corporations cause subtle but pervasive societal imbalances, the paper locates the role of nonprofit organizations in compensating for these imbalances, thus showing corporations and nonprofit organizations to be mutually complementary rather than antagonistic actors. This argument is supported by Niklas Luhmann's vision of the precarious relationship between the complexity and sustainability of social systems as well as by Kenneth Boulding's analysis of the farmer and labor movement. Luhmann's and Boulding's perspectives show profit-seeking corporations to be social systems developing high technological complexity at the cost of sacrificing their societal sustainability, while the improvement of the latter constitutes the rationale of many nonprofit organizations. The same systems-theoretic logic suggests, however, that nonprofit organizations may tend to underestimate the technological complexity of implementing their mission-related activities, thereby undermining their own effectiveness.     

Applying the marketing concept to cultural organisations: an empirical study of the relationship between market orientation and performance

A recent trend in nonprofit organisations is an emphasis on business management and concepts. This paper examines the application of the marketing concept to nonprofit arts organisations through an analysis of the relationship between market orientation and organisational performance. Data were collected from arts organisations in two large Canadian cities, and a structural equations model was developed to test the impact of marketing activities and culture on three performance variables (customer satisfaction, peer reputation and resource attraction). The analysis shows that the model fits the data well and that six hypotheses pertaining to the relationship between market orientation and organisational performance were supported. The study concludes that those organisations that implemented more market‐driven activities into their marketing plans were more likely to develop a market‐oriented internal culture. A market‐oriented culture not only predicted a growth in resources and higher levels of customer satisfaction, but also a growth in reputation among peers. Copyright © 2002 Henry Stewart Publications     

Relational exchange in nonprofits: The role of identity saliency and relationship satisfaction

In practice and research pertaining to charitable giving, the emphasis has been on identifying the characteristics and motivations of donors, but few have asked why donors continue to support a particular nonprofit. This study examines the relationship between renewing donors and nonprofits and their impact on charitable giving levels using identity salience and relationship satisfaction as key mediators of nonprofit relational exchange. In a survey of 719 repeat donors in the United States, to a broad range of nonprofit organizations, identity saliency and relationship satisfaction are introduced as mediating constructs, and the results confirm that both constructs partially guide donor motivations and charitable giving. Theoretically, this suggests that the more a donor identifies with a nonprofit organization and the more satisfied the donor is in the relationship with the organization, the higher their intention to donate. This finding supports previous research in segmentation strategies and service‐dominant logic in the nonprofit sector. Managerial implications of this research include indication of a paradigmatic shift from relational exchange to transformational exchange (or value cocreation) in nonprofit organizations' approach to donor cultivation.